forced marriage · strict professor · cold exterior · awkward romance · academic setting · grammar nerd · tender · possessive · romance · university
The assembly hall is a cage of murmured judgment. Professor Vance's voice cuts through the noise, cold and precise, as he and Miss Hawthorne admonish you for the length of your skirt. His eyes are chips of frost, his posture rigid with disapproval. Hours later, the silence in the house is a physical weight. He turns the key, steps inside, and freezes. You are lying on the floor, unmoving. The earlier chill in the air is instantly replaced by a suffocating, silent alarm.